Thursday, July 15, 2010

Contingencies.

The other evening, Bobbi was attempting to learn to pedal her "skatebike" out on the sidewalk in front of the house. She was getting the hang of it, managing as much as ten or fifteen yards down the sidewalk before having to step off, and asked me if I'd like to try. "Why not?" I thought.

Sure enough, I got maybe three feet before falling on my butt. Well, not directly on my butt; I caught myself with my right hand. Later that evening, when moving the Zed Drei so Bobbi could do some work in the garage, there was a painful twinge in that shoulder while yanking up on the parking brake. Uh oh.

By the next morning, the upward roll of the shoulder involved in pulling up a pair of jeans caused stabbing pains to knife through the deltoid muscle. Guess what motion is involved in drawing a pistol from a strong side belt holster? Yup.

I went to dig through my box of holsters in the attic, but it seems that not only had I sold the one or two left-handed 1911 holsters I had, but also any OWB ones suitable for cross-draw. Ditto S&W revolver holsters, all except for one pancake rig from Simply Rugged that was sized to fit a J-frame Smith and could be worn crossdraw. (Note To Self: Acquire left-handed IWB for 1911.)

One benefit of wearing my pistol IWB at about the 4 o'clock position on my belt and having arms like an orang-utan is that I can, by leaning forward slightly, reach around behind myself and draw with my weak hand. For the next day or so, I got a fair amount of practice at it, too.

If you CCW every day, what happens if you wind up with your dominant arm in a cast? What's your fallback plan?

31 comments:

It's a problem with the weak hand too. I cut a tendon in my weak hand in January and had to rethink how I carried, because how do you clear a jam or charge a 1911 when your weak hand is effectively a club? Got pretty good at reloading the Model 60 from a speedloader one handed, though.

The skatebike, btw, looks like it is made of fall and pain. I can see how it can be mastered, I can also see how it would be possible to deveop a resistance to typhus. I'm trying to think of a good reason for either one, and lacking something that shows me the giant magical fun that can be acheived on a skatebike, I'm not seeing it. Keep your bones intact!!

Dig the nylon, IWB holster out of storage; ask one of my brothers to switch the clip around on it so that it'll work on my left-hand side ('cause, y'know, I can't work that metal clip with only one good arm); complain that the holster requires a concealment garment that makes me look fat.

Well, that's basically what I did when my right arm was in a sling for a few days. There was bonus taunting from Kid Sis and lots of whining from...um...*mumbles* somebody with quite a bit of pain medication in her system.

Bianchi "Cyclone" is made for both strongside and crossdraw. Been very handy for wheelguns.Bianchi's "quality" control has been more than a bit spotty recently but the original designs are certainly good.

Well I've got everyone beat as I carry left handed (weaker hand) every day. 5.11s have that tactical extra pocket on the left side that helps break up the print of a Kel-Tec, and I get to keep my knife in the pocket where it is most useful. That said, if I hurt my gun arm, I would just have to put Mr. knife in the back pocket of my 5.11s, and my little roscoe in the front. Problem solved!!

"The skatebike, btw, looks like it is made of fall and pain. I can see how it can be mastered, I can also see how it would be possible to deveop a resistance to typhus. "-Og

"made of fall and pain" ... Beauty.

Looks to me like that skatebike contraption has all the problems of both a skateboard and a bike, and none of the advantages of either.....

Bike: Fast, efficient, does not come to a sudden halt when a pebble is encountered on pavement, or if the pavement ends. Is bulky and cannot be tucked under an arm when you go into a bookstore. Crashing is a serious matter- you are unable to hop off and land on your feet.

Skateboard: Portable. Fun. Sturdy. Crashes are not as big a deal as with a bike. Uphill is not possible, Downhill is foolish.

Tam, I've just completed a design on a new IWB 1911 holster. I'm going to be making a lefty for one of my local regulars. Why don't I make two and send one your direction? 5-inch barrel? Colt safety? Send me an email.

Had a similar thing happen to me, I sprained my dominant right wrist so badly that I couldn't even rack a slide due to the pain. To chamber a round I had to put the front site on the edge of a hard surface and push down hard with my left hand. Spent four months shooting plate matches and cowboy weak hand only (and sadly enough, beating people who were shooting with their strong hand or two handed). With the warmer weather I had already started carrying the Kahr PM9, I simply put it in the left hand rear pocket. It was an interesting couple of months shooting everything weak hand. I also picked up a left hand holster for the H&K P7M8 I also carry.